Could the New Google Algorithm Cause Visitors to Bypass Your Website?

Google recently released news about a new algorithm its developed that might threaten your site traffic. This algorithm can take content from your website and those of your competitors to create coherent sentences and information. In theory, this algorithm would be able to answer a searcher’s question through a combination of your content and others without taking them to any actual websites. We’ve seen this a bit already through the use of Google’s Featured Snippets, which is the first step in this progression. But how does this new algorithm work?

This new algorithm works by reviewing the content on your website, taking the parts it deems important, and tossing out the rest – much like the technology used in Featured Snippets. These pieces of newly created content are called “extractive summaries,”

which is basically content that has been concentrated to the most important information. Once the algorithm determines what information is most important, it then uses a second algorithm called an Abstractive Summary. This algorithm function can paraphrase the important information contained in the extractive summaries into something readable, which can potentially negate the efficacy of your website optimization services.

Essentially this new algorithm will create Google’s own version of Wikipedia. The algorithm’s goal is to review as many relevant pages of content and boil the information down into the right answer to a search query. The new algorithm allows Google to create its own content by scanning your content and competitors’ content and selecting the best information from both to provide a thorough answer to a searcher, which means that they’ll no longer need to click through to sites to get the information they’re looking for.

Google hasn’t yet announced when or if they’ll create their own content through this algorithm, but the technology is on the horizon.

In the meantime, your own quality content will continue to drive traffic to you site. Reviewing your content strategy can put you ahead of the competition. If you have questions about your content marketing, or need a little help with website optimization services or anything else, we’re always here. Contact us for advice or a free marketing evaluation.